OK, I'm not a big "gamer." I don't play John Madden's popular NFL games, although a couple of my kids do and so I'm familiar with them and own a copy for the Wii. I haven't paid a whole lot of attention the "Madden Curse" -- the jinx that apparently strikes most NFL players when they are put on the cover the following season.
But I keep getting this question from readers and so will answer it here -- Could Panther QB Cam Newton turn down the Madden cover if he wanted to?
The answer, apparently, is "No."
Newton, currently in the quarterfinals of fan voting and "playing" Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald this week, has already agreed like the rest of the quarterfinalists to have his name and likeness on the cover if he wins, according to a PR person working for EA Sports whom I directed this question to. The players have all "agreed to participate in the competition and, if selected by the fans, will appear on the cover of Madden NFL 13," spokesperson Julie Foster of EA Sports Communications says via email.
The cover winner, incidentally, will be revealed on ESPN's SportsNation at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 25th and then immediately "will proceed to a photo shoot" for the cover, according to EA.
A short version of the curse's victims include Michael Vick, Garrison Hearst, Shaun Alexander, Donovan McNabb, Brett Favre and (last year) Peyton Hillis -- all of whom either had a significant injury or a significant downturn in their performance the year after they made the cover. Hillis, in fact, said in December 2011 after his fortunes in Cleveland dropped so precipitously:
"Things didn't work in my favor this year. There's a few things that happened this year that made me believe in curses. Ain't no doubt about it."
As for Newton, I imagine we'll get to see whether the curse is valid or not in 2012. Although I've heard from a number of Panther fans voting against Cam purely for superstitious purposes, his popularity is pretty strong nationwide and he's the No.1 seed among the eight remaining players (the other six are Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Rodgers, Calvin Johnson, Ray Rice, Patrick Willis and Victor Cruz). In his first two matchups, Newton received more than 80 percent of the vote.
One note about both the "Madden Curse" and the "Sports Illustrated cover jinx," which has a very similar them: Players who make the cover of either are at the peak of their profession. There is, generally, nowhere to go but down. So a regression makes some sort of sense. Still, it's something fun to talk about in the run-up to the NFL draft.
We're moving!
9 years ago
Posts
15 comments:
Cam is curse proof.
When he's finished playing he will be considered the greatest NFL quarterback of all time.
He has it all, brains, size, great arm,tremendous athlete, and a strong work ethic.
ITS MADDEN 13 PEOPLE! THE CURSE WILL BE EVEN STRONGER SINCE ITS 13!!!
BOOGITY BOOGITY BOOGITY!!!!!
Don't even worry about it.
This is the Year of The Gronk!
he has the brains ????
seriously 1:04, seriously.
Re: Gronk
I think that his little "dancing incident" might have ruined his chances. He looked kinda rediclulous. "Hey, let me help you take your shirt off."
Why does no one get that the reason Cam has the most votes is because everyone outside of Charlotte and Auburn hate the guy? No one is voting for him that likes him. Of course haters want him to win so they can see The Curse in action.
You're welcome Scott for me helping to do your job. You missed this one.
Cam's probably smarter than you 1:38... smarter than you. I just can't understand all the negative BS from people who call themselves "fans". What's the kid got to do, walk on water???
It's all Gronk, all day and all night!
Cam Newton isn't going to be on the cover of Madden this year.
If not Gronk, it will be Megatron. That's the matchup that will decide it all.
There's no WAY Cam wants to face off against Megatron.
Megatron is a tool...Cam is Optimus Prime son! Cam is the man!! Panthers will go 10-6 this season...2-0 vs the Saints...
when this is all over, me and Cam Newton are gonna get an apartment together.
Anon 5:15pm...Cam and the Panthers are going to beatdown New Orleans like a Hurricane! New Orleans will finish 6-10 this year. Lol...Holla!!
Anonymous 5:15... as Bill Engvall would say: "Here's your sign"
Newton had absolutely NOTHING to do with what happened to the Saints... in case you missed it in your haze filled ignorance, this all started several YEARS ago! The NFL knew about this and told the Saints to knock it off a couple of seasons ago. They have NOBODY to blame but themselves!
You can't even seem to put a coherent sentence together, let alone come up with any actual facts! The cleaners called and your white sheet is ready for pickup.
Scott, you really don't know about Madden? How old are you? I am 45 and can't imagine a football fan near my age not knowing how to play the game or about the curse. You sound like some old dude talking about that confounded Internet thing. No wonder you don't write much about football strategy.
Most of these comments are laughable at best! Why does everybody have to bash a young man with incredible talent? Does everything have to be a competition? Cam won Rookie of the Year for a reason. He's an awesome quarterback who broke numerous records in his rookie year. And the people who diss him are just jealous that the PANTHERS picked him as the number 1 draft pick and their teams didn't get him! Sounds like sour grapes to me! Cam has only begun his professional career and will break many records in the years to come!! Don't hate!!
Normally I'm no conspiracy theorist, but I am scared to death of Cam being on this cover. This is one curse I completely believe in. If Cam wins, he probably breaks his leg on the first snap of training camp, doctors declare it so severe he will miss the next 2 seasons, we go 0-16 this year and the NFL moves the Panthers to LA.
Post a Comment